Morningstar
by Kalypso Odygia
Summary: [Warriors by Erin Hunter] Mistyfoot wants to learn more about her mother, Bluestar. With the help of Featherheart and Graystripe, she begins to unravel the mystery that binds RiverClan and ThunderClan together. . .
1. Prologue

Mistyfoot awoke at the sound of thunder. The last days of green-leaf were coming to and end, the first chill of leaf-fall hung in the air. Mistyfoot started out at the sky. The moon had not yet left the trees. A stillness hung over the camp. She dragged herself wearily out of the warrior's den, shook condensation out of her fur and set off out of camp.

As she wandered among the trees of RiverClan, so did her mind. It was moons since the day that ThunderClan was sheltered on their land. Moons since the day Tigerstar first spoke to Leopardstar. Moons since the day she was held prisoner with her brother and Graystripe's kits. Moons since Stonefur died. So much had happened, so much had changed.

Stonefur was gone and Mistyfoot was lost. Without her brother, she felt as if a piece of her was missing. And what of Bluestar? Now that Mistyfoot knew the truth of her parentage she had a sense of longing and need that she had never felt before. Greypool had been like her mother but the truth remained. Bluestar was their mother. Questions tugged at her mind, always there. Always wanting one more moment with Bluestar, always wanting the answers and the truth of her past.

But Featherpaw had saved her from fear and doubt. The knowledge of being a cat of ThunderClan and RiverClan drew her closer to her apprentice. Featherpaw was the daughter of Graystripe, deputy of ThunderClan. Mistyfoot had been like a sister to Silverstream, watching her kits grow was like watching her own.

A strange thought came to mind while wandering the forest. Featherpaw and Stormpaw would become warriors soon. If felt like yesterday that Firestar, then Fireheart, and Graystripe crossed their borders to bring the kits to the camp.

The sun's first light was peaking over the horizon. Mistyfoot reluctantly turned back to camp. Her duty as deputy overpowered her desire to pad amidst the trees. Leopardstar would be waiting for her when she returned, Featherpaw would be sitting patiently near the entrance to the camp. They looked onto her for help, she looked onto them for the love and support that had left her moons before. Before so much bad had happened.


	2. Chapter 1

"Wait, wait. Now!" whispered Mistyfoot to Featherpaw. Featherpaw fell into a crouch. Placing her weight on her haunches, she inched towards the mouse. The mouse's whiskers twitched. Featherpaw extended her paw for another step. The mouse sensed her movement and began to run away but Featherpaw pinned the mouse to the ground and delivered the killing bite.

"Well done! You need to practice you crouch a bit more but it's coming along well!" praised Mistyfoot. Featherpaw let out a purr of pride.

"Let's go to the river and practice hunting fish since you seem capable of catching plenty of mice."

Featherpaw buried the mouse and scampered on ahead of Mistyfoot. "Come on! Deputies aren't slow and lazy, hurry up! I told Stormpaw that I could catch twice as much prey as he could. He just batted me with his tail and told me that he knew a challenge when he saw one. He said that he would try and catch more prey than me!"

"Slow down!" Mistyfoot laughed. "You'll be able to catch plenty of prey today. The Elders will surely be pleased with your efforts."

The two cats moved on through the trees. A warm breeze rustled the branches. Mistyfoot noticed leaves falling from the tree tops, the first touched by leaf-fall's wind. This was just another change in the season but she also sensed that another change, for good or for bad, was coming to the forest.

"Let all those cats old enought to catch their own prey join here for a clan meeting!" cried Leopardstar from the camp's center. Once the Clan's cats were gathered, Leopardstar began.

"Tomorrow is a Gathering. Nothing has happened recently to make me worried but there must still be percausion. WindClan, ThunderClan, and ShadowClan have remained quiet for the past moon. Let us hope that this is a good sign. However, we must still be warry. Blackclaw, Shadepelt, and Loudbelly will stay and guard the camp. The apprentices, Dawnpaw, Featherpaw, Stormpaw, and Runningpaw will come to the Gathering. That is all."

The cats dispersed to the dens and returned to sharing tongues. Mistyfoot was worried. Leopardstar might have been greatly affected by the Clan's battle against Tigerstar and BloodClan but she paranioa was not normal. She was about to return to the warrior's den when she heard Leopardstar call.

"Mistyfoot, may I have a word?"

She turned and padded over to the leader's den and stepped in. Leopardstar lay wearily at the back of the den. Her face was controrted with worry, a sad sign left her mouth.

"What's wrong?" asked Mistyfoot. "Leopardstar?"

"StarClan has spoken. What they said did not comfort me." Leopardstar lifted her head and looked Mistyfoot right in the eye. "They spoke to me about you. They spoke of a great danger, something that could destroy our clan and all the others. StarClan warned me that you would become a part of this and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it. What you will be a part of, I do not know. What ever it is, Mistyfoot, I want you to be ready. You are on your own, I cannot help you anymore than I already am."


	3. Chapter 2

_Author's Note: With the next Erin Hunter book coming out in less than two weeks I've decided to up the speed of my updates. Many of cats in Morningstar will be in this next book and will contradict everything that I've written. I will continue to write Morningstar, but just as a heads up._

A silence hung between Mistyfoot and Leopardstar. What her leader had just said made no sense. She couldn't have anything to do with StarClan, she was deputy, no a leader or medicine cat. Those were the ones who spoke to StarClan, who were part of their dealings. Leopardstar must have been mistaken.

"I don't understand, at all," Mistyfoot said. "This- What have I done? What is going on?" She paced back and forth in the den, none of this made sense. This was all wrong.

Leopardstar looked away for a moment then spoke, "The meaning of their message is just as confusing to me as it is to you. StarClan is mysterious. They do not share information readily. You must come to the Gathering tomorrow. I feel this will be an important one, for good or for bad."

"But I don't understand!"

"Neither do I, Mistyfoot! I cannot think of any reason for you to be tied up in the affairs of the clans' survival." As Leopardstar said this she looked hard into Mistyfoots eyes. Mistyfoot could feel the intensity of her gaze barring into her.

"When this happens I ask you to stay as you always have, strong and loving. You are a wonder deputy, the best I've had," there was a silence, both minds flickered to the memory of Stonefur. "Stay strong and remember to love."

Leopardstar moved farther back into the den. Mistyfoot could see that this was her time to go. Without a moments hesitation she spend out and into the center of camp. Cloud's shadows passed over the ground casting phantoms that swooped and dashed over the ground. Above, the stars shown merrily but Mistyfoot could only look away.

Is this what she had become? Until now, she had not realized how much the death of her brother had effected her. Mud lay caked between her pads, her fur was matted. When had she last shared tongues? She set to work on her pads, biting the mud away and licking them. It took quiet a while. After the mud was gone, Mistyfoot began cleaning her fur and getting rid of the mattes. Her tongue combed through the hairs until the last tangle was gone. Then suddenly she was still.

Moonbeams poured down from the sky striking her pelt. What she saw made her heart clench tight. Instead of her usual gray pelt, the fur shown a lustrous silver. The way the moonlight reflected of the pelt reminded her of a time long past. But it had not been her pelt that had shown silver, it had been Bluestar's.

Mistyfoot could hardly move. Her eyes fixed upon her pelt. Did she really look like her mother? The word mother hit her hard. Bluestar had been of ThunderClan, but so had Stonefur and Mistyfoot. She were born in the ThunderClan camp. There were no memories of her mother but as another clan's leader. They had gone to RiverClan, the clan of their father, Oakheart.

How could two cats of different clans fall in love? Hadn't that also happened to Silverstream and Graystripe? Knowing you could never be with the one you loved even if they loved you back frightened Mistyfoot. Her parents had defied their clans and just to end up apart forever. She loved Blackclaw, the thought of being separated from him was unbearable.

She thought of her kits, now apprentices. Dawnpaw, her only daughter, was growing quickly. Hawkpaw, Runningpaw, and Crowpaw were also growing. Soon, like Featherpaw and Stormpaw, they would be warriors. Her mother had given up her and Stonefur, something she couldn't imagine doing. How could she have done that to her?

There were a spare few things Mistyfoot knew about her mother. She had been a warrior of ThunderClan and lover to a RiverClan cat. She had born Oakheart kits into ThunderClan. That is where the story fell short for her. The reason for her giving up her and her brother was never clear. Bluestar had never told them. In her last dying breaths they had forgiven her, all questions forgotten.

Her mother was such a blur to her. Mistyfoot wanted to know more, to understand her mother. Too long she had been in the shadows. She needed Graypool, but even she was gone.


End file.
